No elector in Bihar to be deleted without prior notice, EC tells SC

New Delhi: The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that as a matter of policy and in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice, no deletion of any elector's name from the draft electoral roll of Bihar published on August 1, 2025, as part of the Special Intensive Revision, would be undertaken without issuance of a prior notice and passing of a reasoned and speaking order by the competent authority.

It maintained such electors would be afforded a reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing of relevant documents.

The EC was responding to a notice to the Supreme Court on an application by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms on August 6, claiming 65 lakh voters in Bihar during the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls have been left without disclosing reasons.

Brushing aside the allegations, the EC, in an additional affidavit filed on Saturday, said, the safeguards against deletion have been reinforced by a robust two-tier appeal mechanism prescribed under the relevant rules, thereby ensuring that every elector has adequate recourse against any adverse action.

The Commission also said it has been issuing daily press releases or bulletins to keep the public informed on claims and objections received from public or political parties, on which action will be taken by the competent authority, after notice period, as per law.

It pointed out the first stage of the SIR in Bihar has been completed, and the draft roll has been duly published on August 1, 2025, which followed the house-to-house visits undertaken by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for the collection of enumeration forms from existing electors.

"The Commission, in an effort to ensure inclusion of every eligible elector whose enumeration forms had not been received caused the list of such electors, be shared with Booth Level Agents of the recognised political parties by July 27, 2025 itself so that, in cases where such entries required reconsideration, appropriate corrective action could be taken and the names included in the draft roll. Subsequently, upon noting the proactive efforts of the political parties, updated lists were again shared with their representatives for further follow-up,'' it stated.

The Commission had deployed about 2.5 lakhs volunteers, most of whom are also officers of the Bihar government, to assist electors, including in procuring the requisite documents from various State departments, the affidavit said.

It also stated, to facilitate thorough scrutiny of the draft roll from August 1 to September 1, 2025, printed and digital copies of draft rolls have been made available to political parties, and online facility for the public at large.

The EC also said, to ensure that no temporary migrant from Bihar is excluded, advertisements in Hindi were issued in 246 newspapers and the CEOs of all States/UTs, were requested to take forms from outside the State through both online and physical means.

It also pointed out, to secure the participation of all electors and all political parties, wherein out of 7.89 crore electors, over 7.24 crore submitted their enumeration forms with the active involvement of the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, 38 District Election Officers (DEOs), 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 2,976 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), 77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 2,45,716 volunteers, and 1,60,813 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by all major political parties.

The court is scheduled to consider the batch of petitions challenging the validity of the SIR on August 12.